Richie Ryan
A young Immortal befriended by Duncan MacLeod during the time of The Gathering, Richie Ryan would evolve from a hard-nosed street kid into a loyal, strong, and true friend. =Personal History= A foundling like Duncan, Richie grew up with no knowledge of his father. He was raised by his mother, Emily Ryan, until the age of 4. On an outing to Richie's favorite candy store, Emily suddenly began complaining of dizzy spells, and collapsed on the floor, expiring before the boy's eyes. Ritchie spent his fifth year in orphanage, and would spend the rest of his childhood in foster care. Richie quickly came to despise authority, and soon found himself on the wrong side of the law, becoming a thief and burglar. He joined a close-knit circle of friends including Angie Burke and Gary Correll, and dated several young ladies including Nikki and Donna. He also took up motorcycle riding. Encounter with MacLeod It was on a routine job in the heights that Ritchie would meet the man who would turn his life around. He had marked a local antique shop as a likely candidate, and easily broke in on a night of his choosing. As Richie was stashing a classic sword, however, he suddenly found himself facing three men, drawn swords in hand. He had unwittingly stumbled into a duel between Duncan MacLeod, Connor MacLeod and Slan Quince. Police soon arrived on the scene and arrested Richie for burglary. The next day at the station, however, Duncan came to Richie and offered a deal: he would press no charges so long as Ritchie kept quiet about what he had seen. Ritchie was quick to agree, and the two parted company, planning never to meet again. Richie's curiosity eventually got the better of him, though, and he soon began following Duncan and Connor on their outings, eventually discovering their practice sessions in an abandoned factory. When Slan Quince returned and challenged Duncan, Ritchie followed the MacLeods to the meeting point on the bridge. He watched, awestruck, as first Connor, then Duncan dueled Quince, and as Duncan killed the evil Immortal and took his Quickening. Anxious to get away from what he had seen, Richie promised to keep quiet as before. Duncan made a counter-proposal with a side benefit: he offered Richie a job at the store as his assistant. Work At An Antique Shop Richie's work with Duncan was never dull. An exacting taskmaster, Duncan would have Ritchie filing invoices one day, and running errands with him the next. Duncan filled Richie in on the details of Immortality: the Game, the Gathering, the Rules. Duncan would occasionally utilize Richie's shadier skills in theivery, however, but it seemed a small price for helping turn Ritchie's life around. Richie could still get into trouble, however, and he often did. In one case, he swindled his way into the orphanage where he had been raised, stealing his personal file in an attempt to track down his family. When Ritchie was caught, Duncan bailed him out yet again, and helped him conduct his search in a more legitimate fashion. Richie's search proved to be fruitless - the man Richie thought to be his father was exposed as a con artist and Emily Ryan was proven to have been Ritchie's foster mother. Yet Richie walked away at peace with himself. Pain would soon return to Richie's life when he recieved word of the death of his friend Gary Correll. When Duncan told Ritchie of his suspicion of Correll's involvemnt with the alchemist Kiem Sun, Richie became determined to root out the proof. He began scouring the city for information on Gary's activities and who was behind it. Once again, Richie's methods proved too crude and amateur for his goal, but he wound up rekindling his relationship with his friend Angie along the way. When Duncan's friend Lucas Desiree lost his head to Sheriff Howard Crowley, MacLeod cashed in a favor from Richie: accompany him to the town of Steveston and help Duncan talk to the man accused of Desiree's murder, Leo Atkins. Duncan's plan was simple, if a little bit hard on his young friend: Richie was to deliberately get himself arrested, giving Duncan a valid excuse to gain access to the prison cells. While obviously not thrilled by the idea, Richie was sold when Duncan offered him the chance to drive the Thunderbird to the site. Richie also helped to save Leo from an impromptu lynching, with the assistance of reporter Randi MacFarland. Richie became yet again entangled in the Game when the Immortal Felicia Martins marked him as a pawn in her challenge against Duncan. Posing as a newly reborn Immortal, Martins easily seduced Richie, despite warnings from Tessa, who easily saw through the act. Richie soon began to turn against Duncan and Tessa, spurred on by Felicia's manipulations. When Felicia finally showed her true colors and attacked Duncan, Richie was stunned, but prompted his friend to show her mercy. He left with Duncan, humbled yet again. Richie would bounce back quickly, standing with his friends through various situations such as Byron Slade's courthouse takeover, the abduction of Tessa by the Immortal Caleb Cole, and Duncan's capture and testing by Dr. Paul Wilder. When his former girlfriend Nikki turned up again, now wanted by Immortal Alexi Voshin and his gang for theft, Richie intervened with Duncan's help, hiding Nikki and her daughter while MacLeod dealt with Voshin and his thugs. Life In Paris Return to America First Death Learning The Game First Quickening Reconciliation Career in racing Betrayal In the Game Second Reconcilliation Fall of a Friend =Personality= =Fighting Style= =Watchers= Category:Immortals Category:Males Category:Deceased individuals